Investigating the Existence of the Diagnostic Overshadowing Bias in Australia

Daniel Jamieson; Jonathan Mason

doi:10.1080/19315864.2019.1595231

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Investigating the Existence of the Diagnostic Overshadowing Bias in Australia

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Investigating the Existence of the Diagnostic Overshadowing Bias in Australia

Daniel Jamieson and Jonathan Mason

Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, Vol.12(1-2), pp.58-70

2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19315864.2019.1595231

Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection

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Abstract

diagnostic

overshadowing

bias

intellectual

disability

diagnosis

General mental health and psychology

Thompson Institute Special Collection

UniSC Diversity Area - Disability and Inclusion

People with an Intellectual Disability (ID) are around 4 times more likely to suffer with a mental health disorder than IQtypical people, however previous studies have shown they may be less likely to be diagnosed. One suggested cause of this is the diagnostic overshadowing bias: the tendency for practitioners to attribute unusual behaviour, thoughts or feelings to a person's ID and not a separate mental health disorder. In the current study N = 87 participants were randomly assigned 1 of 2 clinical vignettes describing a client who is displaying symptoms of mental health disorder. Vignette 1 described a client with an IQ of 105 who graduated from high school. Vignette 2 described a client with an IQ of 55 who attended special classes throughout school. All other details were identical. Participants then rated the likelihood of 7 diagnoses on a 5-point Likert scale. Contrary to our hypothesis participants were not less likely to diagnose a mental health disorder in people with an ID and this was found to exist across all profession types involved in the study. Although these findings indicate that the diagnostic overshadowing bias may not be present in Australia, several factors including a reported lack of confidence in working with clients with an ID suggest the inclusion of ID specific training may be beneficial.

Details

Title: Investigating the Existence of the Diagnostic Overshadowing Bias in Australia
Authors: Daniel Jamieson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - School of Social Sciences
Jonathan Mason (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - School of Social Sciences
Publication details: Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, Vol.12(1-2), pp.58-70
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Inc.
Date published: 2019
DOI: 10.1080/19315864.2019.1595231
ISSN: 1931-5864
Copyright note: Copyright © 2019 Taylor & Francis Inc. Reproduced with permission. This is an electronic version of an article published in Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 12:1-2. 58-70. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities is available online at: www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/19315864.2019.1595231.
Organisation Unit: School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Thompson Institute; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450989302621
Output Type: Journal article

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